District Budget Forums

I want to thank everyone who has come out for our first two forums on the district budget. Over 100 parents, teachers, staff, and other community members came to Morrill Middle School and Vinci Park Elementary School to help prioritize the list of cuts that we are faced with for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.

In the four years I have been on the board, the Berryessa Union School District has been forced to make cuts every year. This is due to the fiscal problems in California, and the fact that every year, our allocation of dollars from Sacramento has declined. Due to strong fiscal leadership by the District Office and Board of Trustees, we have been successful at keeping the budget cuts away from the classrooms. The district office and maintenance departments have absorbed cuts at a much greater percentage of their size than the school sites. As a result, we now have fewer custodians and mechanics, and an administrator to student ratio that is near the bottom of comparable districts in Santa Clara County.

We were also one of the only districts in Santa Clara County that avoided school site layoffs or increased class sizes in 2009-2010. That is because of a one-time bailout from the Federal Stimulus package in conjuction with the passage of our Measure W local parcel tax. It is also because our business department is doing a phenominal job of finding cost savings in all of our budget areas.

Unfortunately, the level of cuts for the coming year is unprecedented and we are left with far fewer choices that don't effect the education of our students. The only way to make up an $8 million shortfall over the next two years is with big dollar items. These are almost all programmatic things. That is why the choices presented at these budget forums include increasing class size, eliminating elementary school music, cutting middle school counselors, reducing media tech (library) hours, reducing school clerk and secretary hours, closing a school, and shortening the school year by up to four days.

The goal of holding these hearings is to find out how the public ranks these various items. That way, when the Board is making decisions about which items to cut as a last resort, we will have a feel for which are the least desirable choices. It will also help us decide what should be added back first in the event of an improved budgetary situation.

Your input is crucial in this determination. If you have not yet attended one of these forums, please consider joining us this week. Our final two budget hearings start at 7pm and will be on Wednesday Feb. 24 at Piedmont Middle School and Thursday Feb. 25 at Majestic Way Elementary School.